Robert Carsen: The Way I DirectPAMELA MARGLESAmerican mezzo-soprano Susan Graham in the 2006 Lyric Opera of Chicago production of Iphigenia in Tauris. Below: Robert Carsen.When robert carsen came to Toronto last spring todirect Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice for the Canadianin his home town in almost 20 years. In 1992 he haddirected the world premiere of Harry Somers’ Mario andthe Magician for the COC. At that point, he was alreadybeing recognized as one of the most imaginative and excitingdirectors around. Today he is one of the busiest — lastyear alone he worked on 21 new productions and revivals.I spoke with Carsen backstage at the Four Seasons Centrefor the Performing Arts a few days before the opening ofOrfeo ed Euridice. Though his work is controversial, he does not revealany desire to confound or outrage anyone, least of all his audiences.Instead he seems intensely concerned about being understood.Orfeo ed Euridice was a huge hit in Toronto. At the two performancesI attended, the audience stood up and cheered at the end. Performancessold out, and it went on to win two Dora awards. But Carsen was alreadywell aware of what a powerful production he was bringing to Toronto,had been revived elsewhere a number of times.Carsen was born in Toronto in 1954 and lived here until he was 20,and Paris. But his ties to Toronto remain strong, since he still has closefamily here. Though his mother died a few years ago, his father, artspatron Walter Carsen, is, at 98, remarkably active.When I ask whether Toronto was a good place for him to grow up,he says without hesitation, “Yes, it was. It all started here for me — allthing,were in Toronto. So it was formative. I was lucky because myparents loved different art forms, so my brother and I were exposed toto not have to go to bed early. But I remember almost everything I sawwhen I was little, all the operas at the COC, all the theatre.”It was clear to him from an early age that he wanted to be an actor.“I became obsessed with the theatre.” Carsen went to Upper Canada“At UCC I was in all the plays and musicals I could get into.In those days, because it was a boys’ school, the boys playedboth male and female roles. So I played Katisha in TheMikado, and Archibald Grosvenor when we did Patience.”It turned out there was a lot to learn from playing both.Carsen then went to York University to study theatre.“But one day I suddenly had an epiphany — I realized thatI had to not be doing this. It was my one brave action, toget up in the middle of an exam at York University, putmy papers in the bin, go home and tell my mother I wasknew absolutely nobody. But I wanted to immerse myself completelyin the world of theatre, and I wanted conservatory training as an actor.So I left the next day.”Six years ago, both Carsen and his father, who is beloved in theToronto arts community for his wide-ranging philanthropic support,were awarded honorary doctorates by York University. “I had to pointout in my thank-you speech that in fact what York University hadtaught me was that I didn’t want to stay in Canada getting a liberalarts education, which was educating me to be able to do somethingelse when being an actor doesn’t work out.”After two years of training to be an actor at the Bristol Old Vic, oneof his teachers said he thought Carsen had the makings of a director.in fact he was saying, ‘I think you’re actually a director — how yourmind works, and the way you contribute to what everyone else is doing.’That got me thinking.”So he started looking for work as an assistant director. “Maybebecause it was a little disappointing not to be acting, I thought I wouldstart in a parallel domain. I worked as an unpaid assistant at the SpoletoFestival and then at Covent Garden.”at the COC as assistant director on Tristan und Isolde. “But the persontwo shows for him at the Guelph Spring Festival, The Lighthouse byPeter Maxwell Davies, with the young and very brilliant Ben Heppner,and Benjamin Britten’s The Prodigal Son.”8 thewholenote.comSeptember 1–October 7, 2011
When Brian Dickie took over the COC, Carsen directed twoproductions, Katya Kabanová and Mario and the Magician.“Brian had known me when I was an assistant director atGlyndebourne.” But after Richard Bradshaw replaced Dickieas head of the COC, Carsen was never invited back. Why, hedoesn’t know, especially since Bradshaw had been the conductorfor Carsen’s two COC productions.“I had at times made suggestions to Richard, particularly abouthad designed the Ringin the cycle, Das Reingold.) “Since Michael and I are both fromToronto, and we’ve done well over 20 productions together, weboth thought how nice it would be to bring various productionsof ours here. But it never happened.”Alexander Neef invited Carsen here soon after he took overthe COC following Bradshaw’s untimely death. Neef had seenCarsen’s work frequently at the Paris Opera, where Neef hadbeen casting director. “When Alexander started talking to meabout projects, he told me he wanted to bring my two Gluckproductions here. I thought that was great, so I didn’t inquire whyhe chose those. Then later I discovered that the COC had neverdone anything by Gluck. I was amazed — and delighted, becauseOrfeo ed Euridice is one of the most important works in all of theIphigeniain Tauris is Gluck’s masterpiece. It’s a fabulous, fantastic opera,one of my favourites.” So the pairing of the two operas makes akind of mini-cycle, he points out. “I call it a bi-cycle.”Just as these two works are radically different, so are hisproductions of them, though he uses the same design team forthink that the same people had done them.”When I ask Carsen what distinguishes his stagings as his work,he says, “If I had to answer, it would be that not one resembles thenext one. To me they are all different, depending on what the worksthemselves are like.”Carson’s work is often categorized as regietheater (director’s theatre)because, like most other European-based directors working today, hetends to stage operas in time periods and locales that are differentfrom what the score indicates or from how they are traditionally done.The production of Orfeo ed Euridice that was staged at the FourSeasons Centre was set on a barren hill with a pit in front. Orfeo worea business suit, Euridice a simple unadorned dress. But any descriptionof the setting hardly does justice to the beauty and emotional impact ofthe production. Carsen used meaningful details of staging to illuminatehis overall concept, and created a show that was both intellectuallycoherent and incredibly moving.Carsen’s staging of Il Trovatore, one of his most controversial, is setKatya Kabanová,one of his most exquisite, takes place on a series of movable docks setManonLescaut is set in a shopping mall, providing a fair comment on the titlecharacter, while Tosca and Capriccio take place in theatres. His mostCandidea chorus of dancing politicos, wearing masks to represent then-currentworld leaders like Bush, Putin and Berlusconi and dressed in boxerCandidehe rewrote the libretto — though not, he emphasizes, the lyrics. Sincethe libretto had always been problematic, and had already been rewritten,he was able to obtain the approval of the estate of the composer,It’s evident that Carsen pays careful attention to the music, somethingone can’t always assume with directors. “I’m passionate about music,and I care deeply about the score in doing an opera — otherwise there’sno point for me in directing opera. The music completely shapes howthe piece is told. The way you feel the work emotionally is conveyedby the music.” Having studied piano for many years, he reads thescores, and never lets his stagings obstruct the music … well, almostdramatic effect, it inevitably turns out that he is actually illuminatingROBERT KUSELGREAT CHAMBER MUSIC DOWNTOWNOpening Night of our 40th seasonTHE TOKYO QUARTETwith MARKUS GROH, pianistand a new work fromComposer Adviser Jeffrey RyanThursday, September 15 at 8 pmMARKUS GROH in recitalSchumann, Chopin, BrahmsTuesday, September 20 at 8 pmCanadianHeritageatPatrimoinecanadienwww.music-toronto.com416-366-7723 1-800-708-6754order online at www.stlc.comSeptember 1–October 7, 2011 thewholenote.com 9
Welcome to our December/January issue as we turn the annual calendar page, halfway through our season for the 25th time, juggling as always, secular stuff, the spirit of the season, new year resolve and winter journeys! Why is Mozart's Handel's Messiah's trumpet a trombone? Why when Laurie Anderson offers to fly you to the moon you should take her up on the invitation. Why messing with Winterreisse can (sometimes) be a very good thing! And a bumper crop of record reviews for your reading (and sometimes listening) pleasure. Available in flipthrough here right now, and on stands commencing Thursday Nov 28. See you on the other side!
Long promised, Vivian Fellegi takes a look at Relaxed Performance practice and how it is bringing concert-going barriers down across the spectrum; Andrew Timar looks at curatorial changes afoot at the Music Gallery; David Jaeger investigates the trumpets of October; the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution (and the 20th Anniversary of our October Blue Pages Presenter profiles) in our Editor's Opener; the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir at 125; Tapestry at 40 and Against the Grain at 10; ringing in the changing season across our features and columns; all this and more, now available in Flip Through format here, and on the stands commencing this coming Friday September 27, 2019. Enjoy.
Vol 1 of our 25th season is now here! And speaking of 25, that's how many films in the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival editor Paul Ennis, in our Eighth Annual TIFF TIPS, has chosen to highlight for their particular musical interest.
Also inside: Rob Harris looks through the Rear View Mirror at past and present prognostications about the imminent death of classical music; Mysterious Barricades and Systemic Barriers are Lydia Perović's preoccupations in Art of Song; Andrew Timar reflects on the evolving priorities of the Polaris Prize; and elsewhere, it's chocks away as yet another season creaks or roars (depending on the beat) into motion. Welcome back.
What a range of stuff! A profile of Liz Upchurch, the COC ensemble studio's vocal mentor extraordinaire; a backgrounder on win-win faith/arts centre partnerships and ways of exploring the possibilities; an interview with St. Petersburg-based Eifman Ballet's Boris Eifman; Ana Sokolovic's violin concert Evta finally coming to town; a Love Letter to YouTube, and much more. Plus our 17th annual Canary Pages Choral directory if all you want to do is sing! sing! sing!
Arraymusic, the Music Gallery and Native Women in the Arts join for a mini-festival celebrating the work of composer, performer and installation artist Raven Chacon; Music and Health looks at the role of Healing Arts Ontario in supporting concerts in care facilities; Kingston-based composer Marjan Mozetich's life and work are celebrated in film; "Forest Bathing" recontextualizes Schumann, Shostakovich and Hindemith; in Judy Loman's hands, the harp can sing; Mahler's Resurrection bursts the bounds of symphonic form; Ed Bickert, guitar master remembered. All this and more in our April issue, now online in flip-through here, and on stands commencing Friday March 29.
Something Old, Something New! The Ide(a)s of March are Upon Us! Rob Harris's Rear View Mirror looks forward to a tonal revival; Tafelmusik expands their chronological envelope in two directions, Esprit makes wave after wave; Pax Christi's new oratorio by Barbara Croall catches the attention of our choral and new music columnists; and summer music education is our special focus, right when warm days are once again possible to imagine. All this and more in our March 2019 edition, available in flipthrough here, and on the stands starting Thursday Feb 28.
In this issue: A prize that brings lustre to its laureates (and a laureate who brings lustre to the prize); Edwin Huizinga on the journey of Opera Atelier's "The Angel Speaks" from Versailles to the ROM; Danny Driver on playing piano in the moment; Remembering Neil Crory (a different kind of genius)' Year of the Boar, Indigeneity and Opera; all this and more in Volume 24 #5. Online in flip through, HERE and on the stands commencing Thursday Jan 31.
When is a trumpet like a motorcycle in a dressage event? How many Brunhilde's does it take to change an Elektra? Just two of the many questions you've been dying to ask, to which you will find answers in a 24th annual combined December/January issue – in which our 11 beat columnists sift through what's on offer in the upcoming holiday month, and what they're already circling in their calendars for 2019. Oh, and features too: a klezmer violinist breathing new life into a very old film; two New Music festivals in January, 200 metres apart; a Music & Health story on the restorative powers of a grassroots exercise in collective music-making; even a good reason to go to Winnipeg in the dead of winter. All this and more in Vol 24 No 4, now available in flipthrough format here.
Reluctant arranger! National Ballet Orchestra percussionist Kris Maddigan on creating the JUNO and BAFTA award-winning smash hit Cuphead video game soundtrack; Evergreen by name and by nature, quintessentially Canadian gamelan (Andrew Timar explains); violinist Angèle Dubeau on 20 years and 60 million streams; two children’s choirs where this month remembrance and living history must intersect. And much more, online in our kiosk now, and on the street commencing Thursday November 1.
Presenters, start your engines! With TIFF and "back-to-work" out of the way, the regular concert season rumbles to life, and, if our Editor's Opener can be trusted, "Seeking Synergies" seems to be the name of the game. Denise Williams' constantly evolving "Walk Together Children" touching down at the Toronto Centre for the Arts; the second annual Festival of Arabic Music and Arts expanding its range; a lesson in Jazz Survival with Steve Wallace; the 150 presenter and performer profiles in our 19th annual Blue Pages directory... this is an issue that is definitely more than the sum of its parts.
In this issue: The WholeNote's 7th Annual TIFF TIPS guide to festival films with musical clout; soprano Erin Wall in conversation with Art of Song columnist Lydia Perovic, about more than the art of song; a summer's worth of recordings reviewed; Toronto Chamber Choir at 50 (is a few close friends all it takes?); and much more, as the 2018/19 season gets under way.
PLANTING NOT PAVING! In this JUNE / JULY /AUGUST combined issue: Farewell interviews with TSO's Peter Oundjian and Stratford Summer Music's John Miller, along with "going places" chats with Luminato's Josephine Ridge, TD Jazz's Josh Grossman and Charm of Finches' Terry Lim. ) Plus a summer's worth of fruitful festival inquiry, in the city and on the road, in a feast of stories and our annual GREEN PAGES summer Directory.
In this issue: our sixteenth annual Choral Canary Pages; coverage of 21C, Estonian Music Week and the 3rd Toronto Bach Festival (three festivals that aren’t waiting for summer!); and features galore: “Final Finales” for Larry Beckwith’s Toronto Masque Theatre and for David Fallis as artistic director of Toronto Consort; four conductors on the challenges of choral conducting; operatic Hockey Noir; violinist Stephen Sitarski’s perspective on addressing depression; remembering bandleader, composer and saxophonist Paul Cram. These and other stories, in our May 2018 edition of the magazine.
In this issue: we talk with jazz pianist Thompson Egbo-Egbo about growing up in Toronto, building a musical career, and being adaptive to change; pianist Eve Egoyan prepares for her upcoming Luminato project and for the next stage in her long-term collaborative relationship with Spanish-German composer Maria de Alvear; jazz violinist Aline Homzy, halfway through preparing for a concert featuring standout women bandleaders, talks about social equity in the world of improvised music; and the local choral community celebrates the life and work of choral conductor Elmer Iseler, 20 years after his passing.
In this issue: Canadian Stage, Tapestry Opera and Vancouver Opera collaborate to take Gogol’s short story The Overcoat to the operatic stage; Montreal-based Sam Shalabi brings his ensemble Land of Kush, and his newest composition, to Toronto; Five Canadian composers, each with a different CBC connection, are nominated for JUNOs; and The WholeNote team presents its annual Summer Music Education Directory, a directory of summer music camps, programs and courses across the province and beyond.
In this issue: composer Nicole Lizée talks about her love for analogue equipment, and the music that “glitching” evokes; Richard Rose, artistic director at the Tarragon Theatre, gives us insights into their a rock-and-roll Hamlet, now entering production; Toronto prepares for a mini-revival of Schoenberg’s music, with three upcoming shows at New Music Concerts; and the local music theatre community remembers and celebrates the life and work of Mi’kmaq playwright and performer Cathy Elliott . These and other stories, in our double-issue December/January edition of the magazine.
In this issue: conversations (of one kind or another) galore! Daniela Nardi on taking the reins at "best-kept secret" venue, 918 Bathurst; composer Jeff Ryan on his "Afghanistan" Requiem for a Generation" partnership with war poet, Susan Steele; lutenist Ben Stein on seventeenth century jazz; collaborative pianist Philip Chiu on going solo; Barbara Hannigan on her upcoming Viennese "Second School" recital at Koerner; Tina Pearson on Pauline Oliveros; and as always a whole lot more!
In this issue: several local artists reflect on the memory of composer Claude Vivier, as they prepare to perform his music; Vancouver gets ready to host international festival ISCM World New Music Days, which is coming to Canada for the second time since its inception in 1923; one of the founders of Artword Artbar, one of Hamilton’s staple music venues, on the eve of the 5th annual Steel City Jazz Festival, muses on keeping urban music venues alive; and a conversation with pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, as he prepares for an ambitious recital in Toronto. These and other stories, in our October 2017 issue of the magazine.
In this issue: a look at why musicians experience stage fright, and how to combat it; an inside look at the second Kensington Market Jazz Festival, which zeros in on one of Toronto’s true ‘music villages’; an in-depth interview with Elisa Citterio, new music director of Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra; and The WholeNote’s guide to TIFF, with suggestions for the 20 most musical films at this year’s festival. These and other stories, in our September 2017 issue of the magazine!
CBC Radio's Lost Horizon; Pinocchio as Po-Mo Operatic Poster Boy; Meet the Curators (Crow, Bernstein, Ridge); a Global Music Orchestra is born; and festivals, festivals, festivals in our 13th annual summer music Green Pages. All this and more in our three-month June-through August summer special issue, now available in flipthrough HERE and on the stands commencing Thursday June 1.
From science fact in "Integral Man: Music and the Movies," to science fiction in the editor's opener; from World Fiddle Day at the Aga Khan Museum to three Canadians at the Cliburn; from wanting to sashay across the 401 to Chamberfest in Montreal to exploring the Continuum of Jumblies Theatre's 20-year commitment to the Community Play (there's a pun in there somewhere!).
In this issue: Our podcast ramps up with interviews in March with fight director Jenny Parr, countertenor Daniel Taylor, and baritone Russell Braun; two views of composer John Beckwith at 90; how music’s connection to memory can assist with the care of patients with Alzheimer’s; musical celebrations in film and jazz, at National Canadian Film Day and Jazz Day; and a preview of Louis Riel, which opens this month at the COC. These and other stories, in our April 2017 issue of the magazine!
On our cover: Owen Pallett's musical palette on display at New Creations. Spring brings thoughts of summer music education! (It's never too late.). For Marc-Andre Hamelin the score is king. Ella at 100 has the tributes happening. All; this and more.
In this issue: an interview with composer/vocalist Jeremy Dutcher, on his upcoming debut album and unique compositional voice; a conversation with Boston Symphony hornist James Sommerville, as as the BSO gets ready to come to his hometown; Stuart Hamilton, fondly remembered; and an inside look at Hugh’s Room, as it enters a complicated chapter in the story of its life in the complex fabric of our musical city. These and other stories, as we celebrate the past and look forward to the rest of 2016/17, the first glimpses of 2017/18, and beyond!
In this issue: a conversation with pianist Stewart Goodyear, in advance of his upcoming show at Koerner Hall; a preview of the annual New Year’s phenomenon that is Bravissimo!/Salute to Vienna; an inside look at music performance in Toronto’s health-care centres; and a reflection on the incredible life and lasting influence of the late Pauline Oliveros. These and more, in a special December/January combined issue!
In this issue: David Jaeger and Alex Pauk’s most memorable R. Murray Schafer collabs, in this month’s installment of Jaeger’s CBC Radio Two: The Living Legacy; an interview with flutist Claire Chase, who brings new music and mindset to Toronto this month; an investigation into the strange coincidence of three simultaneous Mendelssohn Elijahs this Nov 5; and of course, our annual Blue Pages, a who’s who of southern Ontario’s live music scene- a community as prolific and multifaceted as ever. These and more, as we move full-force into the 2016/17 concert season- all aboard!
Music lover's TIFF (our fifth annual guide to the Toronto International Film Festival); Aix Marks the Spot (how Brexit could impact on operatic co-production); The Unstoppable Howard Cable (an affectionate memoir of a late chapter in the life of of a great Canadian arranger; Kensington Jazz Story (the newest kid on the festival block flexes its muscles). These stories and much more as we say a lingering goodbye to summer and turn to the task, for the 22nd season, of covering the live and recorded music that make Southern Ontario tick.
It's combined June/July/August summer issue time with, we hope, enough between the covers to keep you dipping into it all through the coming lazy, hazy days. From Jazz Vans racing round "The Island" delivering pop-up brass breakouts at the roadside, to Bach flute ambushes strolling "The Grove, " to dozens of reasons to stay in the city. May yours be a summer where you find undiscovered musical treasures, and, better still, when, unexpectedly, the music finds you.
INSIDE: The Canaries Are Here! 116 choirs to choose from, so take the plunge! The Nylons hit the road after one last SING! Fling. Jazz writer Steve Wallace wonders "Watts Goode" rather than "what's new?" Paul Ennis has the musical picks of the HotDocs crop. David Jaeger's CBC Radio continues golden for a little while yet. Douglas McNabney is Music's Child. Leipzig meets Damascus in Alison Mackay's fertile imagination. And "C" is for KRONOS in Wende Bartley's koverage of the third annual 21C Festival. All this and as usual much much more. Enjoy.
From 30 camp profiles to spark thoughts of being your summer musical best, to testing LUDWIG as you while away the rest of so-called winter; from Scottish Opera and the Danish Midtvest, to a first Toronto recital appearance by violin superstar Maxim Vengerov; from musings on New Creations and new creation, to the boy who made a habit of crying Beowulf; it's a month of merry meetings and rousing recordings reviewed, all here to discover in The WholeNote.
2016 is off to a flying start! We chronicle the Artful Times of Andrew Burashko, the violistic versatility of Teng Li, the ageless ebullience of jazz pianist Gene DiNovi and the ninetieth birthday of trumpeter Johnny Cowell. Jaeger remembers Boulez; Waxman recalls Bley's influence, and Olds finds Bowie haunting Editor's Corner. Oh, and did we mention there's all that music? Hello (and goodbye) to the February blues, and here's to swinging through the musical vines of the Year of the Monkey.
What's a vinyl renaissance? What happens when Handel's Messiah runs afoul of the rumba rhythm setting on a (gasp!) Hammond organ? What work does Marc-Andre Hamelin say he would be content to have on every recital program he plays? What are Steve Wallace's favourite fifty Christmas recordings? Why is violinist Daniel Hope celebrating Yehudi Menuhin's 100th birthday at Koerner Hall January 28? Answers to all these questions (and a whole lot more) in the Dec/Jan issue of The WholeNote.
"Come" seems to be the verb that knits this month's issue together. Sondra Radvanovsky comes to Koerner, William Norris comes to Tafel as their new GM, opera comes to Canadian Stage; and (a long time coming!) Jane Bunnett's musicianship and mentorship are honoured with the Premier's award for excellence; plus David Jaeger's ongoing series on the golden years of CBC Radio Two, Andrew Timar on hybridity, a bumper crop of record reviews and much much more. Come on in!
Vol 21 No 2 is now available for your viewing pleasure, and it's a bumper crop, right at the harvest moon. First ever Canadian opera on the Four Seasons Centre main stage gets double coverage with Wende Bartley interviewing Pyramus and Thisbe composer Barbara Monk Feldman and Chris Hoile connecting with director Christopher Alden; Paul Ennis digs into the musical mind of pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, and pianist Eve Egoyan is "On the Record" in conversation with publisher David Perlman ahead of the Oct release concert for her tenth recording. And at the heart of it all the 16th edition of our annual BLUE PAGES directory of presenters profile the season now well and truly under way.
Paul Ennis's annual TIFF TIPS (27 festival films of potential particular musical interest); Wu Man, Yo-Yo Ma and Jeffrey Beecher on the Silk Road; David Jaeger on CBC Radio Music in the days it was committed to commissioning; the LISTENING ROOM continues to grow on line; DISCoveries is back, bigger than ever; and Mary Lou Fallis says Trinity-St. Paul's is Just the Spot (especially this coming Sept 25!).
